Sophie Reads YA: Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

Waiting on Wednesday: The Heir Affair (Royal We #2) by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

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Review: The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

10:00

The Royal We
Series: None
Author: Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan
Published July 15th 2015 by Head of Zeus

Goodreads Synopsis
How much would you give up for true love? Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister is the romantic who fantasizes about glamour, fame and fortune - Bex has always been a tomboy. So when she spends a year at Oxford, and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, she is the only girl not interested in dating the future king.

But eventually Bex can't resist falling for Nick, and as their friendship turns to romance, Bex becomes immersed in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace - a world away from her humble upbringing. The relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling ex-girlfriends, and a family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.
Goodreads

Review

This book has been loved by a load of bloggers I follow, and I knew I had to see what all the hype was about. I'm a royalist, through and through, and this book seemed liked the perfect choice for me.

In The Royal We, American Bex goes on a semester abroad to Oxford, and falls in love with the heir to the British throne, Prince Nicholas. As you can imagine, it's not a smooth relationship. The book covers the space of about 5 or so years, and we go through many phases of love: friends yearning for one another; a secret, hidden romance; the ansgsty break up and time apart; and finally, the public engagement, and turning Bex into a proper royal. It was a true whirlwind of emotions.

I enjoyed the book, to begin with. Then, it all went a little pear shaped, and I kinda lost interest. I loved Bex and Nick's falling in love, and how they were proper friends from the start - so the relationship had a good foundation. I really disliked, however, Bex's twin sister, Lacey. To me, she was a attention seeker, who tried to act like she was better than Bex, but used Bex to get her own attention. Whenever anything went wrong, she blamed Bex, and she was even contributed to the biggest problem of them all.

The book seriously read like it was fanfiction of the courtship and romance of the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. There were times that I felt like I was just watching a dramatisation of their story. The Duke and Duchess are two of my favourite royals, and I sort of felt like this book made a mockery of them. I did, however, think it showed just how hard it is for an outsider to join the family. I'm too young to remember how the media treated Kate when her and William were separated, but I do know they were awful - just like the fictional media were to Bex in the book.

Even the treatment of the Princess of Wales, Emma, felt very like how Princess Diana was treated. Again, I was too young to understand when Princess Di died, but since then, I've felt like her treatment from the press was atrocious, and I can fully understand how Emma became the way she is.

The majority of the secondary characters were outstanding, especially Prince Freddy. I could fully see him being just like Prince Harry. These characters didn't care that Bex was a 'commoner', much less that she's American. There's a few who were I wanted to slap, but that happens with just about any book.

I don't read many Adult books, but I am glad I gave this a try. Whilst it wasn't my favourite, and did have some issues, it was still very enjoyable. I wish there was more to the ending - like most contemporaries these days, the ending was lacking, and if there were only a few more chapters, it would've been so much better. I'd still recommend it to people who love royalty, or love anything British.

Dates Read:
December 26-30, 2015

Rating
4 Stars